Chapter Two: The Story Begins

See Main Page for full warnings and content. This chapter has conversational mentions of Child Abuse & Neglect and Non-Con.

Chapter Summary: Tony tells Pastor Jim and Bobby what he’s been going through. One of the hunters is more accepting than the others, but Tony tries to hold on.

Chapter Two: The Story Begins

Tony slid into a booth at Cindy’s Diner downtown. It was run by Cindy Wissinger and her husband Steve who happened to be transsexual. It was located around the corner from one of the police precinct buildings, and about a mile from a federal building that among other things housed one of the locations for the Department of Homeland Security.

There was very little chance that Senior or any of his thugs would go somewhere that constantly had a law enforcement presence. There was also the personal aspect to his choice. Cindy and Steve had helped him to feel comfortable with his sexuality, especially considering what he’d been going through for most of that time.

It was hard to separate the realization his true sexual orientation from the horror of being forced to have sex with his father’s friends. Sometimes he wondered if his lack of interest in sex was the result of what they’d done to him. Fortunately, he’d been unraveling his sexual leanings before his parents lost their minds and gave themselves over to those things, but figuring out that you weren’t the average red blooded American boy you knew your father would have wanted didn’t help his self-esteem.

Forcing himself out of his head, he saw that Bobby and Jim were sitting across from him in the booth studying their menus.

“Hey, Tony! New friends today? Are you here for lunch, or to hang out for a while?”

Turning his head, Tony smiled at Cindy, who always waited on him when he came in. The booth he’d chosen, which was in the back near the kitchen, and furthest away from the door, was his normal spot. He could often be found in it taking a few hours to himself while Spencer was in school trying to hide from the horrors of his life.

Fortunately, Cindy and Steve were both understanding and didn’t push for details he wasn’t willing or able to give. In return, he was always willing to do little jobs around the place, helping where he could. He wasn’t the genius Spencer was, but he’d been a straight A student in school. He also was offered a fairly impressive choice of full rides to Ivy League colleges, but he hadn’t been willing to leave his little brother behind so that he could attend. He could have gone to college locally, but Senior wasn’t willing to let him out of his sphere of influence the amount of time it would take to attend even a local school.

“Both I think, Cindy. I’m hungry, but we have some things to discuss.”

“Alright, Tony,” Cindy replied eyeing the strangers distrustfully. “I’ll make sure that your interruptions are kept to a minimum.” After taking drink orders, Coke for Tony and Pastor Jim and coffee for Bobby, she left them with instruction to signal if they needed something. Otherwise, she’d take their orders when she dropped off their drinks. Tony waited for her to leave and be a safe distance away that he felt he could talk without being overheard before he continued his story.

“My mom is almost never home. There’s always some trip or something that she has to go on. I think that she used to work, but she doesn’t even do that now. Even when she is at home she might as well not be. She pays the most attention to Spencer, but that’s mostly when it’s convenient to her. Then all she does is fill his head with nonsense.”

Tony ran the heels of his hands over his forehead before turning his attention to look out the window next to him. “I know that she has to be at least partially responsible for Spencer’s personality change. He was never this big of a bitch before. Now though he’s hateful all the time to pretty much everyone. I hate what he’s becoming, but I have no clue how to change it.”

He let himself be distracted by the people on the sidewalk for a moment before he spoke again. “I miss my kid brother, and not just because he thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread. The only positive to the whole thing is that I am pretty sure that she’s why he hasn’t been touched yet. My mom spoiled him rotten, and whatever they did I can’t imagine she didn’t try to set some safety measures for him. I’ll be honest though. I don’t know enough about all of this to know what that could be, or when it could fail. It’s just another thing that I don’t understand how it works since that’s not really my mom anymore.”

“You’ve hinted a few times that you believe that your parents aren’t human. What makes you think that?” Bobby’s gravelly voice sounded to be full of doubt, and it drew Tony’s gaze away from the window. The expression on his face didn’t fill him with any more hope. Slowly he could feel his last chance at being saved slipping through his fingers.

Looking down at the table, he pushed away the shredded napkin he hadn’t remembered picking up and pulled out his tablet of paper and pencil so that he could doodle. It always helped him calm down, and sometimes he learned things from what he’d drawn like weird unconscious signals from his otherworldly guardian. If ever he needed calm that was certainly the time.

“I know they aren’t human anymore. The demon inside of my father told me. Anthony and Elizabeth Diana DiNozzo are dead. The demons are the only thing keeping their bodies alive. If they are exorcized, they will cease to exist completely. I know that should bother me, but if I have my brothers whole and alive than I am past carrying what happens to my creators.”

“So, you’re just going on his word?” Bobby asked this time not even bothering to hide the fact that he thought Tony was an idiot. Unfortunately, the skepticism was something that Tony just didn’t have the mental reserves to withstand, and his confidence in getting the resolution he needed was almost in complete tatters.

“What’s the point in all of this?” He asked hearing the despair in his own voice knowing it matched the shattered heart that was scattering pieces of everywhere. He felt his shoulders sag and knew it was time to give up his last little fragment of hope. Picking up his backpack he shoved the paper and pencil back inside. His shaking hands made it difficult to connect the magnetic clasp.

“Look, kid…” Bobby started, but Tony just cut him off with an angry glare. The last thing he needed was some asshole to tell him how Tony was wrong, and the old fart knew better when the jerk hadn’t even gotten a quarter of the story. He was supposed to be open minded about all this. Not just another judgmental prick who wouldn’t listen, and ignored the bits of Tony being blown everywhere as he imploded in front of his face.

“You two aren’t going to believe me either. You said that you’d listen, but I can tell Mr. John Deere Trucker Hat here already fucking thinks that I’m full of shit.” Tony could tell his voice was raised, and knew that he’d draw attention. Unfortunately, he was beyond the point of caring.

All he needed was one person to fucking care that he was terrified and offer some safety in the storm. Instead, all he was getting was turned backs and sneering glares. “Lemme tell you if you won’t believe that there are demons in my mom and dad and my dad’s thugs, you’ll never believe the rest. So, I’m back to nothing.

“I have no one. My parents are dead. The meat suits walking around aren’t them. My brother Aaron is God knows where. I haven’t heard from him in over 4 years, and for all, I know he’s dead, too. Spencer hates me. I’m letting demons rape me to keep him safe, and all he can do is tell me that I’m a liar because what I claim isn’t possible. He’s more interested in his little teenage dramas, and the puffed up fucking ego demon mommy is creating than hearing that I’m fucking in trouble. I have no friends left because I’m scared shitless that they’d be hurt or worse possessed, too.”

Tony yanked the bag off the seat as he stood, throwing it over one shoulder. “I have no one. I have nothing. I am completely alone and without a speck of hope. You two were my last chance at making it out of this, and you won’t even listen to my story. So, what does it matter how the fuck I know? You’re obviously not going to even try and fix this. I don’t understand why you even responded if you aren’t going to consider what I have to say.”

“Tony, are you ok over here? Do you need me to call the station?” Tony wiped the angry tears off of his face as he looked at Steve. When the Pastor stood, he instinctively stepped toward the only chance he had for protection. Somewhere inside of him, a voice was saying that he was a grown-up, and at 22 he shouldn’t need someone else to protect him. The huge broken parts inside of him though couldn’t pull themselves together enough though to turn his offer of assistance down.

“I’m sorry, sir. This is a misunderstanding. Tony, please, sit down and let’s talk. You’re right. We aren’t keeping our promise. Sir, I promise there won’t be any more problems.”

Tony didn’t know what to do. He was so tired and afraid and had no reason to believe that anything would ever get better. Despite everything, these two were still his only chance. Feet heavy with the weight of the despair and feat he was carrying around, Tony slid back into the booth refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

Steve seemed to want a final word before he left. “Keep this in mind, whoever you two are. Tony is a regular here and is important to my wife and me. He’s a lot smarter than anyone gives him credit for because of that younger brother of his. I have heard him speak more today than he has total in the five years that he’s been coming in here. There are days that he doesn’t even speak to Cindy or order. He just points to what he wants on the menu. So, if you upset him again, you’ll be outta here with my boots up both of your asses. Tony, if you need me holler, kid. I will always have your back.”

Tony nodded his thanks, and Cindy brought over their food giving Bobby and Jim the evil eye. After she dropped off the plates, she gave Tony’s shoulder a squeeze before leaving. Once he’d calmed down enough that he could speak again, he answered the question asked. His throat was becoming sore and knew it would hurt that night from overuse after going so long with only minimal speech.

“I know that they’re telling the truth because I shot my fucking father in the chest the first time he let his boys “have a go at me”. I know because they tried to put one of those things in me but it wouldn’t work. That’s when I truly understood and believed that I was different than most people.”

“What do you mean it didn’t work?” Bobby asked, and held up his hands when Jim glared angrily at him. “I just want a little more information. I haven’t heard of a person being able to be protected from possession before. If there’s a way then it would help a lot of hunters if we could get that information out there. I just want to know how the kid did it is all.”

“It isn’t because of what I did,” Tony explained quietly and carefully. “Although there are different ways to protect yourself from possession. For people like you two, a tattoo with a specific symbol and ink would probably work best. I can draw up the symbol and write out the ritual you will need to use if you’d like. My protection though isn’t about something external or supernatural that I added. It’s because of who I am, and what I can do.”

He paused to wait for the questions, as well as pick through his food. His appetite wasn’t quite what it had been in the library, and the food no longer sounded appetizing. Maybe something was getting through though because even the grumpy asshole Singer just raised an eyebrow at him.

“About three years ago, my mom and Senior went away for a long weekend trip somewhere. They said at the time that it was some getaway trip. The demon in Senior later told me that they’d agreed to host them, and went away for some ceremony or ritual or something. Whatever they agreed to was more than the normal, I guess. This special thing required them to be killed so there was no chance of a struggle for dominance. After they returned, it didn’t take long to notice that something was different with them.”

Tony sighed and then took a drink of his pop. As he let himself calm down a little more, he focused on his club sandwich and fries before finally continuing.

“Senior was never the most affectionate father, and he’s always had a short fuse if he didn’t get his way, but he at least pretended that he liked me. After they got back from their trip, he started hitting me, which he’d never done before. As much as he’d yell before then, he’d never hit me. He drinks all the time now, and the things that he says became more hateful. Before he was about 50/50 on the blowing smoke up my ass or calling me stupid. About a month after they got back was the first time he… loaned me out.”

Tony took a deep breath as he pulled his sandwich apart eating the pieces individually, trying not to choke as he swallowed. “I tried to kill him when they came at me. There are always guns around, and I had managed to steal one from one of the trolls that follow him around. The only problem was he didn’t die. Then they tried to possess me, but it wouldn’t work. He got so mad that I ended up getting my ass kicked thoroughly. While I was recovering locked in my room, I started to realize that I wasn’t quite normal. Everything changed after that. I was forced to realize that my weird dreams aren’t well… dreams. They may be weird, but they are not dreams per say.”

“I am guessing these dreams are actually visions?” Jim asked gently. Tony was thankful that the pastor seemed to have taken over talking. He wasn’t sure he could react reasonably to anything the other man asked right then.

Bobby Singer reminded him of a teacher Spencer once had. The man was essentially a good person. The problem was that he’d made his mind up about Spencer way too early on in the school year, and couldn’t get past his own wrong deductions. It didn’t help that Spencer even at his young age was already smarter than the man, and not world savvy enough to know when not to make it known.

Singer seemed to want to help. He’d appeared to be genuine at the library. The problem was Tony guessed, the man seemed to have quickly decided what was going on, and that Tony wasn’t quite all there in the head. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was more broken than he knew. That didn’t mean though that his story was inaccurate or made up. It looked like his hopes and his brother’s lives rested in the hands of this pastor. Tony hoped that the man was worthy.

“About six months before all of this, I started having dreams of this man with… with wings trying to talk to me. At first, he was really blurry, and all I could make out was his figure and these things sticking out to the side behind him. Gradually though with each time I saw him, which was every few days, he became a little clearer. Then when I could see him vividly, he started trying to talk to me. That was like the picture though. The words were really super muffled and didn’t make any sense. As time went on though, I began to understand him. He told me that it was because of how I was that I had to learn how to see him and understand his language.

“One of the first things he said was that he knew I wouldn’t believe right away, but that he was there to help me in the upcoming months and years. It wasn’t until I tried to shoot my father and he didn’t die that I started to believe that maybe the dreams weren’t stress induced. It occurred to me that maybe if demons were real, maybe something good was trying to help me. Once I opened myself to the notion that he wasn’t just a fantasy, things just…. They just changed.”

“Do you know who and what he is?” The pastor asked when Tony paused. He didn’t speak again though right away because he knew that Bobby was absolutely not going to believe anything from there on out. Maybe though… maybe a man of the cloth, maybe a holy man who had devoted his life to God and Angels and all that stuff would believe.

“I don’t know for sure,” Tony finally responded. “I have an idea, but for some reason, he won’t confirm it. He said that it wasn’t time yet. He said that there is a lot of things he wants to tell me, but that I have to be ready first otherwise it’ll just do more damage.”

“And, what is it you think he is?” Singer asked breaking his silence.

Tony clenched his jaw as he glared at the man while trying to come to a decision in his head. Eventually, he decided that there were few black and white truths in this whole thing.

The first was that Tony knew something had to change. He needed some help. The second was that this Pastor Jim was probably his best chance at getting that help. Then there was the fact that whoever or whatever this… being was that had been speaking to him. It was real, and it was on his side. It had shown him Singer and Jim’s appearances. It had shown him some things about the two of them to aid him in his eliciting their help. Singer from his past, and Murphy from his future.

The last was that whatever was going on right then… there was something bigger coming in the distance. Tony didn’t know when or what, but he knew that there was a bigger purpose to all of this. He just had to find the right people before he’d be given everything he needed from his Guide. Somehow, someway the two men across the table from him were a huge part of it.

So, with these facts clenched tight to the center of truth in his mind, he lifted his chin and answered the older man. Regardless of whether he believed now, he knew that the man would believe eventually. He’d try his best not to say he told him so when it happened.

“He’s an Angel. I believe with every fiber of my being that the man speaking to me in my visions is an Angel of God, and he’s here to help me save us all.”